Thursday, February 13, 2014

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Dreams can be
strange, confusing and non-linear; starting out one way and then morphing into something else without
explanation or warning. And so, a ballet about a dream should be equally odd
and curious. In another mid-February engagement at San Francisco’s War Memorial
Opera House, the Hamburg Ballet returned with a full-length production encapsulating
this universal experience – Artistic Director John Neumeier’s “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream”. Perfectly timed for Valentine’s week, unexpected love and
intertwined relationships take center stage in Neumeier’s 1977 version of
Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” takes its
participating characters on an unusual journey, oscillating between the
conscious and the sub-conscious and revealing the porousness that exists
between the two states of being.

The ballet’s
most notable achievement is its dream sequence, which makes up the majority of Act
I. Appropriately weird and mystical, the dream successfully blurred the lines
between reality and fantasy. Manic motion and constant change were expressed
through extremely fast boureés, Russian pas de chats and grand rond de jambes. A
sense of ‘the unexpected’ even permeated the partnering, leading to some spectacular
visuals (including a mid-air developpé à la second). Add in smoke effects,
ambient music and mobile set pieces, and the result was a deliciously
unpredictable apparition.

Translating Shakespeare’s
comedic tale into a non-textual format is not easy to do. The complex
scenarios, the varied characters, the interwoven lives; all three presented a
big challenge. By the end of Act I, things were starting to become clear, but
even with a general understanding of the plot, it was a little hard to keep
track of what was going on. Having said that, with a storyline like “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream”, some uncertainty may have been the right call.

The length of
the production was problematic. About three-quarters of the way through each of
the two acts, there was a very clear and palpable stopping point. The audience
reaction in those moments spoke volumes; they thought each half was over and their
presumption seemed right. But in both cases, the action continued for quite a
while longer, and because definite cadences had already occurred, it felt extraneous.
In particular, Act I clocked in at around eighty minutes.

The style and
choreography of this “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” may not be to everyone’s artistic
taste, but the dancing itself was phenomenal. The leads were great: tremendous
technique, believable acting and artistic sensitivity. However, the real stand
out group was the men’s and women’s corps de ballet. Neumeier’s “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream” charges its chorus with both traditional (in the first scene and
at the wedding) and contemporary ballet vocabulary (during the dream). Each
corps dancer met that call with authentic intention, mature confidence and
technical acumen. They were a delight to watch.